Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a ball joint having a ball joint housing, preferably with attachment means on, a ball of a ball pivot which is pivotally mounted in a recess of the ball joint housing, and an elastic seal between the shaft and the ball joint housing.
In a known ball joint of this type the jacket provided as a seal consists of a collar or a bellows of natural or synthetic rubber or of thermoplastic elastomers. These collars or bellows are conically corrugated in the manner of a concertina. They are pushed over the pivots of the ball joint and fit with the edge of the larger opening under prestress into a peripheral groove of the ball joint housing. In addition, one or two solid circlips or spiral lock washers are tensioned via the collar or bellows. These clip(s) or washer(s) press the collar or bellows into the groove and thus attach it securely and tightly.
This manner of construction requires separate production, warehousing and assembly on the one side of the collar or bellows and on the other side of the ball joint body. For the circlip(s) and the spiral lock washer(s) in addition a corrosion-resistant and thus expensive material must be used. In addition, when the spiral lock washer is clamped, because of assembly the collar or the bellows is relatively frequently torn and thus a high scrap rate occurs and expensive retouch efforts are necessary.